Aether / Fire Deck (easily obtained, fast)
CARDS'': 47'' ELEMENTS:'' Fire & Aether'' STRENGTHS:'' Quick victories against relatively weak AIs if used well'' WEAKNESSES:'' Long battles, particular cards -- Maxwell's Demon, Plague, Rain of Fire'' Overview: The principle of this deck is to get out as many Crimson Dragons on the field, whether by summoning with Fire quanta or using Parallel Universe, to blitz the enemy. That at least explains the presence of pillars, dragons and parallels in this deck, but what are the other cards there for...? Dagger - It costs no quanta and deals steady damage, so why not, really? It's like a (2/1) creature that can't be targeted except by specific spells that destroy permanents. Fire Bolt - This is the bread and butter spell to get rid of pesky creatures in the opening game which can be dangerous if allowed to live, buffed by skills and spells (e.g. parasite, chrysoara, skeleton, photon, virus, deja vu etc). Moreover, it is potentially very powerful in the end game when many fire quanta are racked up. Fire Shield - Also very useful in the opening game to gradually get rid of annoying creatures and secure a health advantage into the middle game. Deflagration - This card is extraordinarily useful in getting rid of enemy shields, weapons and particular pillars which can pose a threat to your Crimson Dragons or give your opponent an unwanted advantage Rain of Fire - One of the biggest weaknesses of this deck is creature spam, so Rain of Fire coupled with other well placed spells can get rid of spam when it becomes overwhelming in the middle game. Rage Potion - This is a very situational card with regards to this deck's strategy as it can't be used as a buff to your side -- it kills Crimson Dragons; I personally use it to destroy enemy creatures below 5 HP in a similar way to Lightning but if you spot a chance to use it as a buff (e.g. if an opponent summons a Golden Dragon (10/10), you might copy it onto your side with Parallel Universe and buff it with Rage Potion to make the resulting creature (15/5) even more powerful than a Crimson Dragon (12/3)). Lightning - Like a fixed-damage Fire Bolt, this can be used quickly destroy weak creatures in the opening game while costing only 2 Aether quanta. Dimensional Shield - This is a fantastically powerful card in the end game when survival matters; you are effectively invulnerable for 3 turns while given time to think and gather cards, or even deal damage if your Crimson Dragons remain on the field -- I cannot overstate how useful this shield is and how many times it has saved me. Nevertheless, I would not recommend playing this until nearer the end game when the enemy has powerful creatures (or just spam) on the field otherwise its invulnerability goes to waste - Fire Shield is more practical at the start of the game. Quintessence - This is another situational card, but it can be very useful to apply this card's effect on a single Crimson Dragon after you have several out to ensure that it remains on the field dishing steady damage to the opponent. However, I would not use this on your only Dragon unless desperately threatened as you won't be able to multiply it by Parallel Universe anymore. Mindgate - This card is immensely powerful against other decks which use Fire or Aether (you can usually tell by the pillars) as you take cards which you can actually use, this pillar is treated as quite a threatening card by AIs and even many real players. TROUBLES WITH OBTAINING THE CARDS: If having trouble obtaining all the cards as a noob, forget the... Rage Potion x1 Rain of Fire x2 Crimson Dragon x2 Parallel Universe x2 Dimensional Shield x1 Quintessence x1 Mindgate x1 Pillars (at your own discretion) These cards are mostly situational but not having them could open some holes for your enemy to exploit. TIPS: 1. Play Pillars and Dagger as soon as possible in the opening game 2. Get rid of early spam using Rain of Fire, Fire Bolt, Rage Potion and Lightning 3. Use Deflagration to get rid of shields, weapons and special pillars, to make way for your Dragons -- particularly get rid of Boneyard as it can contribute to your enemy's spam 4. Do not use Parallel Universe on creatures other than Crimson Dragons or enemy cards that are particularly powerful 5. Play Crimson Dragons in sets of 2 or more with Parallel Universe if you can, otherwise they can be picked off easily 6. Conversely, do not send out too many on the field at one time in case of blanket attacks (like Rain of Fire), especially if the enemy plays with Death cards, as Plague's poison can shorten your Dragons' lives considerably... 7. Be conservative in your use of Quintessence on Dragons as the destruction of your other creatures will mean you have nothing to copy with Parallel Universe 8. Get rid of Maxwell's Demons as soon as possible as they can destroy Dragons very easily 9. This deck becomes quite weak after Fake God level if unupgraded so consider a different strategy founded on stamina rather than firepower after your grinding is done! Use this deck well, young padawan...